As I was scanning my tweeps on Twitter (that’s social media for you other twits…) (I’ve always wanted to say that – ha!) I came across a re-tweeted post from stephenkruiser about this great article in the UK Telegraph, and indeed it is a good one.  I’m posting the entire article for your reading pleasure.  Please be so kind to address whether you think BO has enough “fire in his belly” or if he should be “a bit more like Mr. Bush.” 

Bloodless President Barack Obama makes Americans wistful for George W Bush

Barack Obama’s reaction to bad news is to play it so cool that Americans yearn for a bit more drama – and some even for his predecessor, writes Toby Harnden in Washington.

Miss Bush Yet?!: http://wp.me/pzfHB-kh 

I will never stop being amazed at the number of idiots in this country who are still so spiteful and so jealous of ‘That One’ that they come up with such ridiculous theories and attacks. I understand they think these attacks actually work, but it’s beginning to get old and frankly embarrassing.

I will also NEVER for the life of me understand what is so awful, so anti-American, so dangerous about our President trying to restore some of the diplomacy lost during the Bush/Cheney years? Nor will I ever understand what the crime is in knowing your audience.

We lost a lot during those eight years and did very little to maintain or create new allies or relationships. Any wonder why we’re falling behind.

Since when do we want a President that offends other world leaders? Since when do we want a President that is embarrassing because he doesn’t know the customs of another country? Since when do we want a President that makes our relationships with other countries tenser and more tenuous?

Do we really want a President that offends the very people he’s attempting to have discussions with?

Has the right become such a jealous and hateful bunch that they’d rather he go around the world kicking butt and taking names?

I for one prefer to see my President not only show respect for their customs, but their people as well. I want a President that is admired by other world leaders and citizens even if his politics may not be. I want a President that leaves a positive and long lasting impression on our fellow citizens of the world. I want a President that other world leaders view as not only intelligent, but respectful, yes I said respectful, which is conducive to progress.

Do we want our President to be a laughing stock in other countries?

Or rather a person who is admired and appreciated if nothing else his understanding of the rest of the world.

I know what the majority of us would like, but the rest just want him out of the way.

This little snippet from The Washington Times editor Wesley Pruden’s column on Nov 17 illustrates just how delusional they still are about Barack Obama winning the White House, their White House.

Obama lacks “blood impulse” for what America “is about” due to “Kenyan father,” “mother attracted to men of the Third World”

A little traveling, like a little learning, can be a dangerous thing. Barack Obama on the loose in a foreign land is enough to frighten protocol officers and embarrass the rest of us.

He went off to Asia to tell the Chinese a thing or two about world trade, to prepare the world for a treaty to make the sun change its spots, and of course to pay his respects to assorted heads of state, with particular attention to any royal head (perhaps even including Miss Universe) who crosses his path.

Courtesy of Life Magazine

So far it’s a memorable trip. He established a new precedent for how American presidents should pay obeisance to kings, emperors, monarchs, sovereigns and assorted other authentic man-made masters of the universe. He stopped just this side of the full grovel to the emperor of Japan, risking a painful genuflection if his forehead had hit the floor with a nasty bump, which it almost did. No president before him so abused custom, traditions, protocol (and the country he represents). Several Internet sites published a rogue’s gallery showing how other national leaders – the prime ministers of Israel, India, Slovenia, South Korea, Russia and Dick Cheney among them – have greeted Emperor Akihito with a friendly handshake and an ever-so-slight but respectful nod (and sometimes not even that).

Now we know why Mr. Obama stunned everyone with an earlier similar bow to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, only the bow to the Japanese emperor was far more flamboyant, a sign of a really deep sense of inferiority. He was only practicing his bow in Riyadh. Sometimes rituals are learned with difficulty. It took Bill Clinton months to learn how to return a military salute worthy of a commander in chief; like any draft dodger, he kept poking a thumb in his eye until he finally got it. Mr. Obama, on the other hand, seems right at home now giving a wow of a bow. This is not the way an American president impresses evildoers that he’s strong, tough and decisive, that America is not to be trifled with.

Some of the president’s critics are giving him a hard time, and it’s true that this president seems never to have studied much American history. Not bowing to foreign potentates was what 1776 was all about. His predecessors learned with no difficulty that the essence of America is that all men stand equal and are entitled to look even a king, maybe particularly a king, straight in the eye. Can anyone imagine George Washington, John Adams or Thomas Jefferson making a similar gesture of servile submission? Or Harry Truman? Or FDR, who famously served the lowly hot dog, with ballpark mustard, to the king and queen of England? John F. Kennedy, on the eve of a trip to London, sharply warned Jackie not to curtsy to the queen.

Douglas MacArthur, who ranked above mere heads of state in his own mind, once invented his own protocol on greeting Emperor Hirohito. The emperor, the father of Akihito, wanted to meet MacArthur soon after he arrived to become the military regent of Japan in 1945, perhaps to thank him for saving the throne at the end of World War II. When the emperor invited MacArthur to call on him, the general sent word that the emperor should call on him – speaking of breaches of custom – and the two men were photographed together, astonishing the Japanese. The emperor arrived in full formal dress, cutaway coat and all, and MacArthur received him in summer khakis, sans tie, with his hands stuffed casually in his back pockets. Further astonishing the Japanese, he towered over the diminutive emperor.

Courtesy of Life Magazine

But Mr. Obama, unlike his predecessors, likely knows no better, and many of those around him, true children of the grungy ’60s, are contemptuous of custom. Cutting America down to size is what attracts them to “hope” for “change.” It’s no fault of the president that he has no natural instinct or blood impulse for what the America of “the 57 states” is about. He was sired by a Kenyan father, born to a mother attracted to men of the Third World and reared by grandparents in Hawaii, a paradise far from the American mainstream.

He no doubt wants to “do the right thing” by his lights, but the lights that illumine the Obama path are not necessarily the lights that illuminate the way for most of the rest of us. This is good news only for Jimmy Carter, who may yet have to give up his distinction as our most ineffective and embarrassing president.

The Washington Times might want to get a new editor since Mr. Pruden seems not only challenged in his history and facts, but also appears not to understand quite how ‘The Google’ works. For that matter maybe he needs a lesson in ‘The Internet’ because he doesn’t seem to realize that it is full of proof that President Obama isn’t the only US Leader to show respect.

Maybe Mr. Pruden would have seen this article in The New York Times about one George H.W. Bush……………………….

Then came the moment: When Mr. Bush approached the emperor’s casket, he bowed deeply.

Those of us who had lived in Japan thought nothing of it. That is how respect is shown in Japan. But the pre-cable pundits were screaming, and soon one of our colleagues, the late Gerald Boyd, asked Mr. Bush about it at a news conference.

Mr. Bush danced around an answer for a moment, mentioning members of his squadron who never came home, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s decision to keep the emperor system, as a way of unifying the Japanese people. Then he said this:

I’m representing the United States of America. And we’re talking about a friend, and we’re talking about an ally. We’re talking about a nation with whom we have constructive relationships. Sure, we got some problems, but that was all overriding — and respect for the Emperor. And remember back in World War II, if you’d have predicted that I would be here, because of the hard feeling and the symbolic nature of the problem back then of the former Emperor’s standing, I would have said, “No way.” But here we are, and time moves on; and there is a very good lesson for civilized countries in all of this.

So did President Obama violate protocol? Well, yes, but not by bowing. He made the mistake of both shaking hands and bowing at the same time, a big breach of etiquette. The truth was that he was supposed to choose one or the other.

Maybe Mr. Pruden needs a refresher course on etiquette AND history?

440

“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” – GW Bush

Dans cette vidéo, Megadeth, un groupe heavy métal des années 80-90, a été précurseur du règne de G.W. Bush et a même dépassé la réalité avec un scenario que plusieurs avaient envisagé.

Prenez attention aux symboliques!  Elles sont nombreuses!

À VOIR JUSQU’AU BOUT (ça en vaut la peine)!

APRÈS VOTRE PREMIER CLIC SUR LA VIDÉO, VOUS DEVREZ CLIQUER SUR “WATCH ON YOU TUBE” AFIN DE RESPECTER LES DROITS D’AUTEUR.

BON VISIONNEMENT!

Delicate Flower commented earlier on her blog, that we seem to have it in for Gee Dubya.

Just to underline the point, have a go at this one…..

Image found here….

Here’s Gee Dubya making an arse of himself…..

If I told Christians that I am God, Do you think they would give me money?  They seem to believe whatever can’t be proven false. -.Munnkee

If I came into contact with someone claiming to be God, I’d ask for a miracle as proof, and wager Christians would too.  It’s a lot easier and there’s more money in saying you speak FOR God, as opposed to being him.

Would you rather have a Gay son or A Slut daughter? -PalletJunkie

Gay son, hands down.  Having a slutty daughter would mean I failed as a father.  And only uneducated inbred shitcakers would look down on me for having a gay son, and I’m not in the habit of listening to their opinions, anyway.

Favorite constellation?  -DeathReception

Orion. Hands down.  Also, the seven sisters, Subaru.  Not really a constellation, but enjoy scoping it.

“Glee” is such a POS show.  I watched an episode of it, and it was absolutely terrible. I will not be returning to that show any time soon. -Awesomo3k

You mean a show cobbled together to ripoff the popularity of the “High School Musical” seems forced and cliched? Who would have thought?

The Overhead or Bicycle Kick Is The Most Spectacular Way To Score A Goal In Any Sport.  You have to be a Ninja and good at football to score a goal like that. I dont think any other sport has a move that can win the game as cool as the overhead kick. -HamTam

I would give that nod to either the alley-oop, or that kid from Michigan who lacrossed the puck onto his stick and into the goal from behind the net over the goalies shoulder.

Remember when the Bushbots called French Fries “Freedom Fries”?  LoL.  -DJJazzyJim

It’s astonishing to me how “Russian Dressing” made it through the Cold War.

What do you think when you hear stories like the one that happened last week in Kansas city, “HS team gives up shutout to allow player with Down Syndrome to score TD”? -PTYarnem

I think that if I was that kid, I would have rather had a 3 yard run that I earned than a TD I didn’t.   Kids with a chance of actually making that TD play but were never given the opportunity were passed up so Donnie could walk 12 yards.  Let him join a special league for kids like him or treat him like everyone else.

I turn 21 next week and I have no idea how bars work. What drinks should I get? How much money should I have pulled out? -FluffyBuster

If you are going to one bar. Show them your ID and ask for a free drink. A lot of places will buy you a drink on your 21st. Tip big early and drink those all night.  Otherwise, bar hop and get free drinks everywhere. The most economical strategy because you’ll likely get a lot of free drinks and you don’t have to tip big because you are leaving soon to go to another bar anyway.  Congrats, have fun, and stay healthy.

Bush was an idiot, I get that, but when he was reading to the kids on 9/11 why’d he get flack for finishing the story? What did all of you expect him to do? It seemed like the only intelligent thing to do considering how little information he got, was to finish what he was doing, not cause any alarm, and leave. -SydneyPortopotty

“Kids, thanks for having me here today. Your teacher is going to finish the story for you. While you are important to me, I’m being told there is an issue that I have to take care of right now. The President is a busy man, thank you for understanding. It was great meeting all of you.”

He deserves the flak he gets for this issue, in my opinion. The Presidents job is to handle crisis’, not read to school children. That 7 minutes he spent is 7 minutes people were waiting for every decision that needed to be made by him. When those decisions get pushed back, another 7 minutes worth of decision get pushed back another 7 minutes. He’s the decider, after all.

Corporations or Government? Who do you trust more?  -ChaChaWoodruffisretarded

When government screws the littles, it’s called “Corruption”.  When cooperations screw the littles, it’s called “Longterm fiscal solvency solution.”  Government by 10 lengths.

That new Cowboy Stadium is something.  -TheMichiganKid

Jerry Jones’ two Opening Acts last night for his new house were Jordan Sparks, Daughter of opponents New York Giants and franchise Hall of Famer, Felipe Sparks. And GW Bush, arguably one of the greatest Presidential failures in recent history.   Sure, they are from Texas, but it’s a big place. Seemed like a set-up for eventual football embarrassment.

As we were watching the game they showed John Madden and former Pres Bush chatting in a luxury box and my buddy said “If Jim Rome were in that mix, Frank Caliendo would have had a heart attack.”  I’m still laughing.

I hate football season.  Its not that I dislike football, but when the only baseball highlights i see are on the top ten plays, it gets really annoying. -Belgianrofls

I watched SportsCenter this morning and saw plenty of full-game baseball highlights.  Please note that you sent this on Tuesday, and Monday is one of baseballs off days. You’ll get Wednesday-Saturday back, settle down. Football is only on for like 30 days a year.  Baseball is what, 250 days worth?

FACT: if you update your facebook status/twitter twice a day or more, you’re a fucking moron -Dustyahoo

I wouldn’t say they are morons. But they are attention whores, for sure.  If they really think people care what they are up to 3 times a day, that’s what makes them morons.

I love how the media doesnt care about what Obama said rather that some douchebag was disruptive with two words.  -Considerate_Wanderer

It’s almost like it was planned that way, no?   One small ambitious shitcaker could move the debate to him and his feelings on how he’s standing up for what’s right, with a simple two word outburst on the biggest stage available.

He’s Joe the Plumber and Town Hall Meetings all over again, rolled up into one, and the media expectedly eats it up because they licked their plates clean last time.  You can’t really act shocked.  It’s called “Stealing Thunder”.  And it’s a pretty common technique to distract, these days.

I heard someone say on the radio yesterday that Americans often follow the player rather then club.  Is this true? -ShadowRunKevin

From my experience, it exists but is uncommon.  I find that this phenomenon is existent only in American basketball.  At least , I’d say it’s more common than the other sports, but still the vast majority of fans are team fans. 8:1 I’d say.

In WW68 you said “Why the government hasn’t made stashes of parachutes a legal requirement for floors higher than the 15th floor after this incident is completely beyond my scope of understanding.”

You can’t understand high school level physics?

Skydivers pull the cord very far from the ground so that their acceleration and velocity have time to slow down. That just isn’t possible with a regular parachute. It’d have to be huge and there’d be a ton of complications like getting stuck.

Most jumpers pull at > 3000 ft to have time to slow down, the biggest building in the world would be a comfortable landing, but most other skyscrapers are less than half that size. -limited_skillz

I’ve seen base jumpers from 150 feet. Thats 15 floors. Your move, Stephen Hawking.

Lol, Jeff Hardy finally got arrested. -rex1440

This isn’t even rock bottom for him.  That’ll come in a few months when he listens to his album sober.

Caster Semenya sanction would produce “third world war”, says South African Minister.  I have to admit, I thought Germany would be the cause of WWIII…their track record for World Wars was hard to ignore.  -CoachGenero

As far as starting world wars, I’ll put “female with penis wins running race” between the invasion of Poland and the assassination of Ferdinand, in terms of legitimacy.

What’s up with black people and turning display radios in electronics stores up really loud? -good_pork

Because their ears have been damaged over time due to extended interactions with the loudest thing on this planet, black women.  But seriously, if you like your music loud and are shopping for a stereo, then you should test it loud.

Most underrated snack item? -Crow754

Unfrosted, untoasted, Blueberry PopTarts.

Scenario: you jump out the nearest window to you, how hurt would you get? Let’s assume the smash through the glass does no damage to you; only the fall. -AllHailHypnotoad

Great Question.  Into bushes after 3 foot fall.  Some scratches, embarrassment and pissed off animals later, I’m fine.

382

“This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.” – Muntazer al-Zaidi, shoe thrower, to GW Bush

After days of hearing about the town hall meetings and some of the things that is going on, I have to say that the community organization experiment has gone wild.  Since the President was a community organizer, the social experiment to change the United States into one large community organization is not working as it should.  The problem as I see it is that this will divide the and alienate the country into segments of the for’s and the not for’s.

It may seem simple but the union that are stopping the green jobs from being built in California are the same unions that are causing a distrubance in some of the town hall meetings and not just that, but they are bringing the violence.  I have to lay this at the Presidents feet because without his help in the first place this union would not have come into being.  It’s all a part of the ACORN movement.  I belonged to a union once.  They went on strike and put the company out of business.  They moved out of the country.  No one was benefited by this action.  It never is.

The US Representative and the Senators that are back home need to listen up.  Your actions have brought this anger out in people.  I don’t see any of you being peace makers.  So going to Washington to fulfill your agenda is not going to wash.  As one TV personality said, if you tick off the elderly, they don’t forget.  You could be getting challenged really hard in the next election.  The electorate will not be as forgiving the next time around.

So some are having the town halls, while others are canceling knowing that those that are afraid to face the public will most likely be the first to go.  Realistically, I have not see the Nazi symbols that Nancy Pelosi said she saw.  I figured the favorable news media that has sold their souls to the savior Obama would be all over that.  They are so blind to the truth as well.  I think what will happen is if the people that are trying to make their point through their anger and those elected officials who are trying to justify what they think is right for the world meet up, fireworks are going to happen.

You know, as bad as everyone wants to blame G W Bush for everything, I didn’t see any of this type of revolt during his 8 years in office.  So again this will have to sit at the President’s feet.  My view is that it won’t matter how loud people get that we are screwed and we won’t even get kissed.  The left has decided that this is the mandate they were given in the last election.  So they are going to ruin the country while they have it and it will be up to the next elected officials to try to change it and keep the country from self imploding.

And that’s the way I see it today!

La gouverneure de l’Alaska annonce sa démission du poste de chef de l’exécutif de son état. Le 26 juillet, elle passera les rênes du pouvoir à son lieutenant-gouverneur.

Malgré sa défaite aux dernières présidentielles américaines en tant que colistière de John McCain, madame Palin demeure l’une des meilleurs prospects possibles du Parti Républicain pour lutter contre Barack Obama à l’élection de 2012.

Ce serait d’ailleurs pour préparer sa campagne présidentielle qu’elle quitterait la gouvernance de l’Alaska.

On constate bien ici que les républicains se débattent comme des diables dans l’eau bénite afin de se relever de la débandade qu’ils connaissent d’un océan à l’autre des États-Unis.

Les candidats à la présidence ne doivent pas faire la queue devant les bureaux du Parti Républicain et ce dernier semble désespérément prêt à accepter n’importe qui avec un semblant de notoriété pour porter son flambeau.

La déconnection des républicains avec la réalité est de plus en plus évidente.

Après avoir souligné vivement leur opposition au programme de relance économique d’Obama, ils s’apprêteraient à choisir comme leader une femme qui fut la risée de la planète par sa bêtise et son manque de connaissance du monde. De plus, sa récente déclaration qu’Obama mène l’Amérique vers le socialisme n’a rien pour bonifier le peu de crédibilité qu’elle possède.

Il faut dire que la venue de Sarah Palin à la tète des républicains constituerait la suite logique du règne de G.W. Bush. Tant qu’à promouvoir des ignares sans culture, le Parti Républicain irait encore plus dans la même lignée avec madame Palin.

Mais quelle expérience possède Sarah Palin pour oser prétendre à la présidence? Sa fonction de gouverneure de l’Alaska?

Pas du tout.

N’importe quel imbécile peut gérer un état qui engrange des surplus faramineux en raison de sa faible population et de ses ristournes pétrolières. En fait, l’état de l’Alaska est tellement riche qu’il octroie des allocations universelles à tous ses habitants.

Mais la donne a changé récemment. La crise économique ainsi que la demande baissière de pétrole à travers le monde ont miné la prospérité de l’Alaska. Le nombre de sans-emplois a cru de 27% depuis un an et le taux de chômage a bondi de 6.8% à 8.4% depuis décembre 2008.

Le plus inquiétant est que la gouverneure quitte le navire de son état en pleine crise économique même s’il restait encore 18 mois à son mandat.

Elle a déclaré d’ailleurs : “Cela me fait mal de faire ce choix mais je fais ce qu’il y a de mieux pour l’Alaska“.  Que voulait-elle dire?  Quelle est trop incompétente pour gérer une situation économique difficile?

Je vous le demande : les États-Unis ont-ils besoin de ce genre de politiciens qui tirent leur révérence lorsque les choses tournent au pire?

Ceci en dit long sur l’implication sociale et l’engagement public de Sarah Palin.

I first caught this story over at the church of jesus christ blog yesterday morning; (Biblical Quotes Said to Adorn Pentagon Reports (Re: Religious War) and then watched a number of reports on the topic last night.

Listening to the comments coming from news anchors and the usual talking-heads, left me feeling sorry for George W. Bush.

I understand he was the President and the buck stopped with him concerning the Iraqi war, but I always wondered if  some of those around him used their position[s] and knowledge of his faith, (whether you believe his faith is misguided or not) to promote their own agendas.

I watched a PBS Special some time back on the long-standing close relationship between Cheney and Rumsfeld. It left me disturbed and actually kind of spooked. Watching Cheney making the rounds on Political talk shows recently, reminded me of the PBS program.

Anyway, the story in this case is concerning the cover sheets for daily secret intelligence reports, sometimes delivered to Bush by Rumsfeld during the early days of the Iraqi war. Did you happen to see any of them?

Here is one: (more can be viewed at the link within the article below)

After looking at some of these its easier to understand why this war took on the air of being a ‘holy crusade’ by  many people within the White House, in particular, the President himself. What he didn’t realize, apparently, was by promoting this as a ‘holy war’ or crusade, he was guilty of the same misguided belief held by the terrorists;  that of a holy war or Jihad all in the name of God.

In an article by Robert Draper (AND HE SHALL BE JUDGED) he stated:

The Scripture-adorned cover sheets illustrate one specific complaint I heard again and again: that Rumsfeld’s tactics — such as playing a religious angle with the president — often ran counter to sound decision-making and could, occasionally, compromise the administration’s best interests. In the case of the sheets, publicly flaunting his own religious views was not at all the SecDef’s style — “Rumsfeld was old-fashioned that way,” Shaffer acknowledged when I contacted him about the briefings — but it was decidedly Bush’s style, and Rumsfeld likely saw the Scriptures as a way of making a personal connection with a president who frequently quoted the Bible.

Get Religion has a good post up on this: Better to stick with“Hang in there, baby”

quote…

Have you heard? GQ has the images, people, the proof of just how outrageous the Bush years were, the stuff that’s going to blow the lid on all the pious hypocrisy that was the Global War on Terrorism.

I speak, of course, not about the photos of interrogation (and possible torture) that President Obama has decided against releasing, but about 11 cover sheets to the Worldwide Intelligence Update that feature Bible verses combined with images from the early days of the Iraq war. GQ.com’s exclusive slideshow of the covers runs under the gloating headline “Onward, Christian Soldiers!”

GQ never explains the urgency of publishing these images now — as wars continue in both Afghanistan and Iraq — except perhaps the eternally righteous cause of looking back in anger on the Bush administration.

The cover sheets cannot be defended as good exegesis, or even as creative application of Scripture. Applying Isaiah’s words of “Here am I, send me” to a photo of soldiers armed for combat is an unsettling misappropriation of the prophet. (full article here)

Here is some interesting information I read on polizine.com…I was just looking at political scandals and came across some interesting information I didn’t know about former president Bush. To quote the article (it is also linked…):

“George W. Bush: You didn’t realize that G.W. Bush has been the subject of two sex scandals? Don’t feel bad – they were largely ignored by the media. The first was a former stripper named Tammy Phillips who claimed to have an 18-month affair with then-governor Bush which ended in 1999, just before his first presidential bid. The second, Margie Shoedinger, accused Bush of rape in 2002. She later apparently committed suicide. The most interesting component of these scandals was the speed with which they were discredited, swept away, and for the most part never became known to most Americans.”

In a closed-door meeting with bipartisan congressional leaders Thursday, President Obama reportedly resisted pressure from Democrats to investigate Bush-era interrogation techniques while questioning former Vice President Dick Cheney’s call for the release of more internal memos that Cheney says will show the benefits of the tactics used on high-value detainees.

When House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, asked Obama to release more memos at the meeting, Obama said Cheney is only telling one side of the story, one senior Senate Democratic leadership aide told FOX News.

Obama “suggested that the situation is not quite that cut and dry,” the aide said.

Aides who attended the meeting also said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told Obama she wants a “Truth Commission” to investigate Bush-era interrogation policies — an option that has the backing of a number of congressional Democrats — but Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., apparently didn’t embrace the idea. Read More

Obama must not want to release the good reports of what waterboarding did to save American lives! He should never have released any of our secrets to the terrorist which is what he did, making our Country more unsafe by doing so!

More:

Top legislators Democrats and Republicans Approved interrogations
The CIA briefed top Democrats and Republicans on the congressional intelligence committees more than 30 times about enhanced interrogation techniques, according to intelligence sources who said the lawmakers tacitly approved the techniques that some Democrats in Congress now say should land Bush administration officials in jail.

Seeking the facts about congressional approval, Mr. Hoekstra, the ranking member of the House committee, sent a letter Monday asking National Intelligence Director Dennis C. Blair, a retired admiral, to provide an unclassified list of the dates, locations and names of all members of Congress who were briefed on the techniques. Read On

sent by a reader

Rice approved torture in 2002

Rice, Ashcroft, Richard Cheney [and by extension GW Bush] and others again approved the CIA techniques in July 2003

The Evil Eyes: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, shown Jan. 15, 2009. (UPI Photo/Mannie Garcia/Pool). Image may be subject to copyright.

Condoleezza Rice and John Ashcroft, among other U.S. administration staff, approved harsh CIA interrogation methods in 2002, documents reveal.

“Declassified information about the evolution of the Bush White House’s decisions to employ interrogation methods on terrorism suspects that some consider to be torture — such as simulated drowning known as waterboarding — were contained in Senate Intelligence Committee documents released Wednesday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder,” UPI said.

Does it look like someone is absent?

Condoleezza Rice meeting with President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft and White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales in September 2001. (By J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press). Image may be subject to copyright.

“Declassified information about the evolution of the Bush White House’s decisions to employ interrogation methods on terrorism suspects that some consider to be torture — such as simulated drowning known as waterboarding — were contained in Senate Intelligence Committee documents released Wednesday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder,” UPI said.

“Rice gave a key early green light when, as President George W. Bush’s national security adviser, she met on July 17, 2002, with the CIA’s then-director, George J. Tenet, and ‘advised that the CIA could proceed with its proposed interrogation of Abu Zubaida,’ subject to approval by the Justice Department, according to the timeline.” Washington Post reported.

“A year later, in July 2003, the CIA briefed Rice, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Attorney General Ashcroft, White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales and National Security Council legal adviser John B. Bellinger III on the use of waterboarding and other methods, the timeline states. They ‘reaffirmed that the CIA program was lawful and reflected administration policy.’”

Several hundred students gathered on Sproul Plaza at the University of California Berkeley on Wednesday November 14, 2007 to witness a demonstration of Waterboarding. Source: Indybay

Four senior members of Congress, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), were briefed on the CIA interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, in 2002, U.S. officials said. “Pelosi has confirmed that she was then ‘briefed on interrogation techniques the administration was considering using in the future. The administration advised that legal counsel for both the CIA and the Justice Department had concluded that the techniques were legal.’” Post said

Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State, and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld were  briefed on the program in September 2003. “Strikingly, unless there is a further story in records not yet shown to us, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense were not involved in the decision-making process, despite the high stakes for U.S. foreign policy and for the treatment of the U.S. military,” Post reported Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) as saying.

Read more…

Related Links:

• Spanish prosecutors will investigate Guantánamo torture (For updates see comments section.)
  

UPDATE: 18 April

Is sleep deprivation, grabbing by the collar and diaper-wearing torture?

Obama said Thursday that the U.S. won’t prosecute CIA officials who used the techniques and ordered the memos rescinded. The CIA interrogators, some of whom were contractors, weren’t identified in the partially censored documents.

“This is a time for reflection, not retribution,” Obama said. “In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution.”

While civil rights groups applauded Obama for releasing the memos, some expressed frustration with his promises of immunity for those who followed the memos’ guidance — and predicted that it would amount to blanket cover for all former Bush administration officials. Read More

Obama change his policies so much that no one knows what he will or won’t do for self political power!

At least one high-profile attorney says the declassified Department of Justice memos detailing interrogation techniques prove the U.S. did not torture, even as the ACLU and some lawmakers claim the memos are proof positive the Bush administration did.

David Rivkin, a constitutional lawyer and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, released a statement Friday saying the release of four memos provides a “great benefit” to the former president.

“This data is analyzed in great detail to establish that the use of these techniques does not inflict either physical or psychological damage,” said Rivkin, who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. “The conclusions (the) memos reach that the specific interrogation techniques used by the CIA did not constitute torture are eminently reasonable.” Read More

We all know that the liberals will not accept anyones word for it because they hate President Bush!

LINKS:

(1) Pssst, Janet: Bomb threat against police for detaining illegal alien criminals

Tytuł: Jak brednie podbiły świat. Krótka historia współczesnych urojeń
Autor: Francis Wheen
Tytuł oryginału: How mumbo-jumbo conquered the world
Przekład: Hanna Jankowska
Wydawnictwo: Warszawskie wydawnictwo literackie MUZA S.A.
ISBN: 83-7319-926-8

Są takie książki, które zmieniają sposób patrzenia na rzeczywistość ale…, są też takie książki, które dokooptowują nam lokatorów do naszego ekskluzywnego apartamentu w wielkim domu “dla psychicznie i nerwowo chorych“, przekonanych głęboko o tym, że są ostatnimi normalnymi ludźmi na świecie. Nagle po przeczytaniu takiej książki, czujemy się jak kryptogej po kamingoucie naszego kolegi, co do którego nie mieliśmy takich podejrzeń. Nagle stajemy się członkiem przynajmniej dwuosobowej społeczności.

Nie jest to dzieło wolne od wad… seria pustych ataków, nie do końca jasne uzasadnienia, czasami retoryka biorąca górę nad kwestiami merytorycznymi. Ale i tak jest to dzieło godne przeczytania.

Chyba nie ma w niej dużo z demaskatorstwa i opisów spektakularnych zdarzeń a jedynie chłodne i konsekwentne wskazywanie prostych faktów. Negujących fakty nieproste-medialne. Ja w trakcie lektury doszedłem do przekonania graniczącego z pewnością, że jednak tym światem rządzi banda niekompetentnych idiotów, karmiących masy (a mnie w tej masie) hasłami o profesjonalizmie, odpowiedzialności, rozsądku, itd. Jak to jest możliwe, że kongres usa wpompował w sektor finansowy parę bilionów dolarów!? W sektor, który udowodnił ponad wszelką wątpliwość, że jako odpowiedzialny za finanse nie potrafi nimi zarządzać a jednocześnie ten sam kongres usa wraz z prezydentem usa podejmuje decyzję o anihilacji przemysłu. Ale zaraz… może ja żyję w epoce industrialnej a czas transferował do postidustrializmu?

Tak czy inaczej, żyjemy w czasach ‘teoretycznego imbecylizmu stosowanego’! Bez względu na to czy prezydentem zostanie pan z przyszywanym magisterium czy narodowoliberalnokatolickoaborcjonistyczny murzyn świat zmieni się tylko wtedy, kiedy ludzie robią użytek z własnego rozsądku na własne konto. A jak uczy historia, ludzie czynią to niezmiernie rzadko, więc rokowania na spokój są raczej marne. Rozsądek nie jest w cenie i chyba nie będzie… nie sądzę jednak aby – jak zdają się sugerować redaktorzy opisów na rewersie książki – że powrót do pozytywizmu by cokolwiek rozwiązał.

Nie powiem tutaj nic odkrywczego ale władza jako taka nie daje zupełnie nic w rzeczywistości. Człowiek przekraczający “cienką, czerwoną linię” władzy nie jest ani mądrzejszy, ani rozsądniejszy, ani potężniejszy. Jednak w mentalności ludzkiej taki człowiek staje się potężnym, wszechwiedzącym i wszechmogącym władcą (dotyczy to zarówno władzy kierownika/lidera jak i premiera/prezydenta czy kaprala). A w starciu z tym spektaklem pozorów w salonie luster, ludzki rozsądek ma szanse niewielkie.

Wydaje mi się, że ludzie byliby najszczęśliwsi pod rządami kaprala z “Fletu z mandragory” Łysiaka. Jest tam taka scena, w której kolejni notable wojskowi przejmuja władzę. Najpierw generałowie, potem pułkownicy, majorowie, kapitanowie, porucznicy, itd. Każdy z nich aż do sierżanta wygłasza górnolotne przemówienie o tym jak to przejmuje władzę w imię szczęśliwości i dobra narodu i takie tam wyborcze pierdoły. Dopiero po przejęciu władzy przez kaprali – jeśli dobrze zapamiętałem tę scenę – w telewizorze pojawiła się ogożała twarz kaprala z wyciągnięta przed siebie piąchą jak bohen chaleba. Po krótkich rozterkach wewnętrznych kapral wygłosił ekspoze następującej treści: “uuuuuch! Kurwa wasza mać!“… no ale z drugiej strony, jako to powiedział Bobby Shaftoe, lądując ze spadochronem na dachy najeżonym antenami “trochę kurwa elastyczności“…

Timeline Shows Bush, McCain Warning Dems Of Financial Crisis.

President Bush Administration and Senator McCain warned Democrats repeatedly about Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac and what became the 2008 financial crisis starting in 2002. Democrats not only resisted all reform efforts, but Barney Frank continued to declare them ‘financially sound’ despite clear signs of meltdown.
Source

So Obama is full of sh_t when he says that President Bush left this crisis for him, his party is the ones that allow the crisis to happen. Obama you’re the biggest lier that we have ever had in The White House! What do you the American people think?

LINKS:

(1) FBI raids African money transfer shops in Minnesota